Douluo Continent: The Book of Witness and Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 194 Victory

However, combat is never just a contest of attack power numbers; it's a contest of overall strength—how much of your strongest attack power you can actually unleash. No matter how heavy your punch, it's useless if you can't land a hit.

This match was initiated by Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi from the very beginning. This indicates that, at least up to this point, the rhythm of the attack is in the hands of Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.

Given this, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi on Shrek Academy must have some idea of ​​how the two from Zhengtian Academy might respond. In fact, the choice made by the two from Zhengtian Academy might be exactly what Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi on Shrek Academy hoped they would make.

The waiting area was some distance from the competition stage, and it was viewed from below, so Long You couldn't see Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi's expressions. However, Long You noticed that at the same time that Zheng Tian Academy made changes, the beams of soul energy on Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi's backs and heels all dissipated, and instead, the propulsion soul tools on their chests lit up for a moment.

In the blink of an eye, Beibei and Xu Sanshi went from being extremely active to being extremely still.

Once Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi's feet were firmly planted, Yu Mengdi's second soul skill, Holy Radiance Cross Slash, broke through the lightning energy net without any obstacles and continued to fly forward. Meanwhile, Tang Xiaolei's first arrow transformed into a streak of light and shot towards Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.

Since Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi had taken this initiative to respond, it was clear that there was nothing to worry about regarding the attacks from the two from Zheng Tian Academy. From an angle unseen by most viewers, Xu Sanshi revealed two rows of bright white teeth, and his deep-colored fourth spirit ring shone with dazzling light at that moment.

Everyone present felt a blur before their eyes, and the positions of the players on the field changed. Xu Sanshi approached Tang Xiaolei, who had just sheathed his bow, with a sinister grin, while Bei Bei took a step forward and moved closer to Yu Mengdi.

To understand why this miraculous thing happened, we have to start with one of Xu Sanshi's amazing soul skills. Xu Sanshi's first three soul skills were standard defensive soul master skills: Xuanming Zhen, Xuanming Shield Wall, and Xuanming Power. However, with his fourth soul skill, Xu Sanshi created an atypical defensive soul skill called "Xuanming Displacement".

In Long You's view, this soul skill could be considered a unique teleportation skill. In terms of escape ability, this skill was inferior to teleportation, because only humans could be used as coordinates for positional swapping. However, in terms of defensive effects and assistance to defensive soul masters, this soul skill was definitely superior to teleportation.

Because once this soul skill is activated, either the attacking opponent will face the attack directly, or a teammate who is about to be in danger will be able to escape danger directly.

Now, Yu Mengdi of Zhengtian Academy is facing the first situation. She has to deal with her own attack, and incidentally, also the attack from Tang Xiaolei.

Although Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were basically charging forward side by side, after stopping, they tacitly switched positions, with Xu Sanshi, a defensive-type Soul Master, positioned in front of Bei Bei. Therefore, after the Xuanming Displacement was activated, Yu Mengdi was now face-to-face with Bei Bei, and behind Yu Mengdi were two incoming attacks.

No, Yu Mengdi is facing far more than just two attacks. Xu Sanshi's use of the Xuanming Soul Replacement Skill was pre-arranged by the two of them; Bei Bei was naturally prepared, golden lightning gathering on her dragon arm. This was a golden opportunity, one that would prevent Yu Mengdi from fully focusing on attacks from one direction.

So Bei Bei went all out, and aside from the black spirit ring, all four of his remaining spirit rings were lit up. It wasn't that Bei Bei didn't want to use all five spirit skills at once, but a spirit master's spirit power output per unit of time is limited. Even if Bei Bei risked entering a temporary spirit power vacuum, he still couldn't unleash all five spirit skills at once.

The sharp, burning sensation on her back made Yu Mengdi quite uneasy, but she knew very well that she had absolutely no time to turn around or move to deal with the attack from behind. Because Bei Bei, right in front of her, was exerting even greater pressure.

Time was of the essence, and Yu Mengdi didn't have time to make any further moves. She could only follow Bei Bei's example and unleash all the soul skills she could. In any case, in this one round, Yu Mengdi had already fallen into a disadvantageous position and had to hold on to have any chance later.

A hazy yet clear holy sound rang out, and the angelic light emanating from Yu Mengdi shone even brighter. This was the effect of Yu Mengdi's third soul skill, "Angel's Blessing." This soul skill was similar to the third soul skill of traditional power-attack type soul masters; it was a comprehensive amplification soul skill. However, the amplification of Yu Mengdi's soul skill was exceptionally large.

No matter how much the increase was, Yu Mengdi only used a third soul skill of a thousand years. Even if he added the first and second soul skills, the energy that Yu Mengdi mobilized was far less than that of Bei Bei. Don't forget that in addition to using all four soul skills at the same time, Bei Bei's fourth soul skill was also at the ten-thousand-year level.

"Boom!"

The dragon claw clashed with the angelic holy sword, scattering large swaths of golden light accompanied by equally golden lightning. Yu Mengdi ultimately avoided being attacked from both sides. One of the attacks from behind her was initiated by herself, which she could easily control; although it didn't dissipate completely, its power was greatly reduced, causing minimal impact. The other attack, from Tang Xiaolei, was deflected after Tang Xiaolei paid the price of being completely close to Xu Sanshi.

"Humph!"

A muffled groan rang out; in this round of competition, the two from Zheng Tian Academy were clearly at a disadvantage. Yu Mengdi was currently shrouded in golden light, obscuring her expression, but blood was trickling from the corner of Tang Xiaolei's mouth.

Even with blood trickling from his lips and being completely closed in by a defensive Soul Master who was clearly more adept at close combat, Tang Xiaolei didn't give up the match. With his Purple Flower Bow half-drawn (the distance didn't allow him to draw it fully), Tang Xiaolei unleashed his second Soul Skill, "Spiral Arrow," and his third Soul Skill, "Explosive Arrow," in rapid succession towards Xu Sanshi.

Tang Xiaolei's unique martial soul determines the number of times he can attack, which is equivalent to the number of his soul rings. For a ranged attack soul master, this limitation is absolutely fatal, but it is precisely because of this special limitation that Tang Xiaolei possesses absolute attack power.

During the intra-team competition at Zheng Tian Academy, even Captain Ye Wuqing and Angel Yu Mengdi dared not recklessly attack before Tang Xiaolei had used up all his attack attempts, let alone directly confront his attacks. Now, having used two attack attempts at once and fired two arrows at such close range, Tang Xiaolei neither believed that a defensive Soul Master could dodge in time, nor did he believe that Xu Sanshi could block them.

In Tang Xiaolei's mind, this wave of attacks was enough to seriously injure Xu Sanshi, or even force him to leave the game due to referee intervention. Tang Xiaolei was confident that after catching his breath, he could effectively support Yu Mengdi with his remaining two attack opportunities.

But! But! But!

Xu Sanshi is no ordinary defensive Soul Master; he is a Xuanming Shield Soul Master with the bloodline of the divine beast Xuanwu. Ordinary Soul Masters at the Soul Master level, such as the four Lingxi Shield Soul Masters from Thousand Spirits Academy, Shrek Academy's opponent in the last round-robin tournament, would absolutely be unable to block or dodge an attack of Tang Xiaolei's strength. But Xu Sanshi is different.

Xu Sanshi was too late to dodge, but he could still defend himself. A deep, muffled roar, which shouldn't have come from Xu Sanshi, rang out, and the previously invisible aura around him suddenly showed ripples like water.

Of course, the aura is not the focus at this moment. The focus is on the changes in Xu Sanshi's martial soul. The Xuanming Turtle Shell Shield shines brightly at this moment, and strange light twists on the surface of the shield, like the muscles of a person writhing. Then the entire surface of the shield changes.

A dark green snake with bright red eyes has appeared on the originally thick but smooth tortoise-shell shield. After this snake appeared, Xu Sanshi's previously released Xuanming Zhenhun Skill underwent a significant change. The black Xuanming Zhenguang Shield turned dark green at this moment, and the water around it also became viscous.

The two arrows released by Tang Xiaolei were clearly less than half a meter away from Xu Sanshi, but that half meter distance seemed like an insurmountable chasm.

"Sizzle—Boom—"

The Spiral Arrow demonstrated greater adaptability in this environment, spinning and making a piercing sound as it slowly but steadily advanced forward. The Explosive Arrow, however, faltered. The viscous water within the Xuanming Shock's range rendered it unable to move forward, and ultimately, its soul skill assumed it had reached its target and exploded with a deafening roar.

It must be said that Tang Xiaolei's attack strength was indeed high. With this explosion, the Xuanming Zhenguang Shield in front of Xu Sanshi was directly shattered. Left with no other choice, Xu Sanshi could only continue to use his second soul skill, enlarging the Xuanwu Shield into the shape of a tower shield (it is no longer the Xuanming Shield after bloodline awakening). Xu Sanshi slammed it to the ground, easily blocking the aftershocks brought up by the explosion of the explosive arrow.

However, the other spiral arrow fired by Tang Xiaolei, and Tang Xiaolei himself, were in serious trouble. According to Tang Xiaolei's prediction, the explosive arrow should explode on Xu Sanshi. Although he would still be affected to some extent, as long as he crouched down in time to protect his head, the impact would not be too great.

However, Tang Xiaolei did not expect that the explosive arrow did not travel much distance at all. Although he had been desperately trying to create distance the moment he realized something was wrong, how fast could a weapon-type spirit master with a strong attack ability be? The blast radius of the explosive arrow completely trapped Tang Xiaolei inside.

Although this was a soul skill that Tang Xiaolei activated herself, soul skills don't recognize people. Since Tang Xiaolei didn't have time to control the soul skill she released, she had to bear the consequences of the soul skill's effect.

Without a doubt, Tang Xiaolei's defensive abilities were no match for Xu Sanshi's. Xu Sanshi calmly withstood the explosive arrow's blast, while Tang Xiaolei collapsed to the ground coughing up blood in a sorry state.

In terms of soul power, Tang Xiaolei still has the strength to fight, but unfortunately, in terms of physical condition, he is unable to get up. After Xu Sanshi caught up and cast a Xuanwu Shield version of Xuanming Zhen on Tang Xiaolei, the referee appeared in time and confirmed that Tang Xiaolei had lost his ability to fight, thus being eliminated from the match.

However, Tang Xiaolei wasn't alone. Just as Xu Sanshi was finishing off the enemy, the battle between Bei Bei and Yu Mengdi on the other side also came to a conclusion. Without a doubt, Bei Bei was the victor.

Yu Mengdi's reaction was undeniably quick, and her Angelic Martial Soul was undeniably powerful. However, Bei Bei had seized the initiative, and her Martial Soul was no less formidable. The Dragon Claw, fused with four Martial Soul Skills (first, second, third, and fourth), was at a disadvantage against the Angelic Twin Swords, which only had three Martial Soul Skills.

However, Yu Mengdi was indeed tough. Despite the internal and external injuries she had sustained in the previous fight, she relied on her higher soul power level to get through the soul power vacuum period before Bei Bei and used her full-power fifth soul skill first.

Since both of them were going head-to-head, BeiBei had no time to dodge Yu Mengdi's fifth soul skill, "Angel God-Sealing Slash." Left with no other choice, BeiBei could only offer up the Holy Dragon Spear of Light, which wasn't yet at its optimal state.

In a close-quarters clash between two ten-thousand-year-old soul skills, the outcome largely depends on the skill level of the soul master unleashing the skill. Can they unleash the skill's strongest effect? ​​Can they replenish the skill with more soul power? These factors all influence the outcome of this head-on battle.

In terms of the last point, Bei Bei is undoubtedly at a disadvantage, but Bei Bei is not fighting alone; he also has the Martial Soul Consciousness, Xiao Guang.

A Soul Master controls Soul Skills through their Martial Soul, but even with proficiency, there's still a fundamental difference. It's this one-dimensional gap that allows BeiBei to directly control the release of Soul Skills with his Martial Soul consciousness, thus bridging the gap.

In the clash of their fifth soul skills, neither Bei Bei nor Yu Mengdi gained an advantage. After the soul power fluctuations from the collision dissipated, both of them were in a sorry state and unable to launch another attack for a short period of time. However, Bei Bei won again because he had Xiao Guang and a soul tool that could be activated quickly.

Previously, when Long You was making a soul tool across levels, he had used the characteristic of his martial soul consciousness to help soul masters recover their soul power anytime and anywhere, which greatly extended his effective working time (working time with the assistance of soul power). Now, with Xiao Guang's help, Bei Bei has also recovered a certain amount of soul power at a faster speed than Yu Mengdi.